Making-Original-Products-presentationzen

There are many ways to start a presentation, but no matter how you choose
to start, do not waste those initial valuable two or three minutes “warming up”
the audience with filler material or formalities. Start strong. The five elements
comprising PUNCH are not the only options to consider, but if your opening
contains at least one of these approaches, then you are on your way to opening
with impact and making a strong connection.
The Honeymoon Period
Getting and keeping an audience’s attention can be a tricky thing. Generally,
audience’s want you to succeed, but they will still only give you one or two
minutes of a “honeymoon period” for you to make a good impression. Even
famous, well-established presenters, including celebrities, will only get about
a minute before audiences grow tired of a presenter’s inability to make a good
impression and grab their attention. There is no excuse for a weak start. If your
technology lets you down just as your presentation starts, you cannot stop. As
they say in show business: “The show must go on.” People form impressions of
you and the presentation in the first few moments. You never want those first
few moments to be a memory of you trying to get the technology to work.
Never Start with an Apology
Do not apologize or imply that you have not prepared enough for a given
audience. It may be true, and your apology may be sincere and honest (rather
than just being an excuse), but it never comes across well to an audience.
The audience does not need to know that we have not prepared as much as
we would have liked, so why mention it and get it in their head? You actually
may be prepared enough and doing well, but now the audiences is saying
to themselves “Man, he’s right—he didn’t prepare enough.” The same goes
for telling people you’re nervous. “You didn’t look nervous, but now that you
mention it….”
A confession that you are nervous may seem honest and transparent, but
it is too self-focused at a time when you are supposed to be focused on the
audience and their needs and their feelings. An admission about being nervous
is not said to make the audience feel better, only to make yourself feel better. If
you admit that you are nervous, you may actually feel better since labeling and
acknowledging your emotion is better than suppressing it. This is why people
238 Presentation Zen